Tigers' Cole Sanford has hat trick in holiday send-off: Wednesday's 3 Stars

No. 1 star: Cole Sanford, Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL)

The Kamloops Blazers ended up with a lump of Cole in their stocking. Sanford (3G-1A, +3) hit the trifecta in the Tigers' 7-3 win, scoring a short-handed goal, a power-play goal (that was also the game-winner) and an even-strength goal that sealed his first hat trick this season. The 19-year-old's partner in crime, Trevor Cox (1G-4A, +3), had a fine night as well.

The only scoring of the opening 20 minutes came on Sanford's shorty with 2:22 left in the period. The Vernon, B.C. native assisted on a second-period tally from Tommy Vannelli (1G-2A, +3), while Cox set up the Steven Owre goal that equalized at 3-3.

Just before the five-minute mark of the third, Sanford broke the deadlock. He also delivered the backbreaker with 8:46 left on a setup from Cox; that goal gve him nine points over his past two games.

No. 2 star: Chris Bigras, Owen Sound Attack (OHL)

Bigras (2G-3A, -1) didn't despair at being cut from Team Canada on Sunday as he helped the Attack go 5-for-5 on the power play during its 6-3 win against the injury-depleted Plymouth Whalers. A string of Plymouth penalties in the second gave Owen Sound an extended 5-on-3 advantage and it scored three goals in a one-minute, 43-second span with Bigras getting two primary assists prior to scoring off a setup from Detroit Red Wings prospect Zach Nastasiuk. That lifted Owen Sound into a 3-1 lead.

The teams were two goals apart midway through the third when Bigras, a Colorado Avalanche prospect, slid down low to score his second of the night. Another power-play assist capped off his big night.

No. 3 star: Kohl Bauml, Everett Silvertips (WHL)

The Victoria Royals ended up with a lump of Kohl ... wait, using that pun once was bad enough. Bauml (3G, plus the final conversion in the shootout) helped Everett outlast the Victoria Royals for a 7-6 shootout win in a game where each team held a two-goal lead at some point.

Bauml opened scoring 7:46 with an assist from Montreal Canadiens first-rounder Nikita Scherbak (3A, +2), who was stymied several times by Royals goalie Coleman Vollrath. The Royals, led by Chaz Reddekopp (1G-3A, +3), rallied and took a 6-4 lead with 13:07 left on the third. The so-called most dangerous lead in hockey lasted only 62 seconds before Bauml scored via Noah Juulsen, the young 'Tips defenceman who has been named to the CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game. Bauml struck again with 4:06 left. After the teams traded conversions in the final regulation round of the breakaway relay, the 20-year-old Bauml buried the decider.

So one WHL hat trick was Cole against Cole and the other was Kohl against Coleman. Really.

Potent notables — Colorado Avalanche first-rounder Connor Bleackley (2G, -1) was named No. 1 star of Red Deer's home loss against league-leading Kelowna. Justin Kirkland (2G-1A, +2) ignited the Rockets, which took 8-of-10 possible points from its Alberta road trip ... Colby Cave (2G-1A) led Swifti Current to a 5-2 win against Saskatoon ... Defencmman Nick Walters (1G, +3) scored the overtime winner in Lethbridge's 5-4 road win over Regina ... Jeremiah Addison (2A) helped Ottawa win 2-1 against Kingston in the only other OHL game ... Cavan Fitzgerald (1G-2A) helped Halifax beat Acadie-Bathurst 3-2 in the lone QMJHL game.

Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet.